I think there is a misconception about the purpose of a play, film, TV show etc. The concept of 'accuracy' can become inappropriate to drama. It seems perverse to accept an entirely fictional line on the basis that 'there must be dialogue', but not accept a well-worn (and loved) Churchill story, joke, or statement because 'he never said it'. Is the chestnut in the spirit of Churchill? All musicals, and especially operas, are absurd. Yet many are great works of art. (The idea of a musical or operatic 'Churchill!' might boggle the mind at first, and might be terrible, or surprisingly good.'Hamilton' proves that a genius can create the most unlikely contexts for history). A 'straight' play demands a similar suspension of disbelief in the audience. It does not, and should not, come under a special set of requirements to be 'accurate', because it closer approximates to 'reality'. For 25 years I have performed a one-man play 'Churchill', which I also wrote. It is set in Churchill's wartime Cabinet War Rooms on April 4th 1955. After entertaining HM the Queen and Prince Philip to dinner at No. 10. Churchill goes to this familiar, private place to decide whether 'to go or not to go'. Of course he 'really' didn't visit the Cabinet War Rooms. The fictional setting provides a dramatic vehicle for the audience to spend an evening with Churchill as he wrestles with the decision. They hear stories, jokes, speeches, personal revelation. The text is made up of many elements: exact quotes, partial and edited quotes, combined quotes on one subject e.g. Russia, true stories, well-known exchanges not actually true, a few quotes by others, material written by me etc. What is the yardstick I used as a playwright? Sandy Meisner, famed acting teacher, described acting as 'behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances'. This is the key. Truthfulness. That is why John Lithgow's performance was good. Despite casting a 6' 4" man to play a 5' 6" historical figure, and the script being uneven in places, he gave in my opinion a truthful, and at times powerful, performance within these constraints. My yardstick in writing was actually simple - is the play, as a whole, true to Churchill's character, personality, nature etc.? Does the audience leave with a true feeling for Churchill the man, the statesman? Does it contribute to his legacy? Very, very rarely has anyone said 'You know that Lady Astor story is a myth?' to which 'Yes I do. But it is a funny story and in character for both, so I included it'. Another good example is 'if you're going through Hell, keep going'. As far as I know this is in the limbo of no attribution, but if an attribution turned up, no Churchillian would be surprised. I included it. That is the yardstick of a dramatist, not an academic. We do not use footnotes. I would not include anything that Churchill would not have said. I would not have him say General Smuts arrested him at the armored train incident, because it wasn't Smuts. But he would say Lord Randolph died of syphilis, because he believed it to be true. And the language used must be appropriate. A character in the Crown (not Churchill) uses the term 'heads up' as a noun. This is an ananchronism, as it was not used in this meaning until the 1970s. It is part of the due diligence of a playwright to watch out for such minor jarring elements. Andrew Roberts was kind enough, in 2000, when I performed the show for the trustees at the National Churchill Museum at Fulton, to give me a couple of factual corrections on dates. Gratefully included! So I urge when dealing with a dramatization, define accuracy in its dramatic context of truthfulness to character. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. - Andrew Edlin
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